manchester looks like a thriving city. but with the surrounding areas home to some of the most economically disadvantaged parts of the uk. rows of shops stand unused and the number of people claiming benefits has risen almost 70% since 2008. the uk's opposition labor party insists the government's austerity measures are too harsh and grossly unfair. >> manchester city council has seen 170 million cooks after two years, whereas other authorities have received no cuts at all. it's not a burden fairly shared. we see north pitted against south. seeing the poor pitted against the rich. we're seeing public pitted against private. >> in a city manchester has the highest unemployment rates in the country. like most european countries, that percentage rises dramatically for the under 25s. >> basically given up. just keep trying to apply. i applied for over a hundred jobs and none of them have ever got back to me. >> the effects of austerity have spread even into the wealthiest areas of the city. just a few miles south, an old marke